Micaela Connery is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Kelsey, a national nonprofit pioneering disability-forward housing solutions that are affordable, accessible, and inclusive.

She launched this work alongside her cousin and co-founder, Kelsey, a passionate advocate for access and inclusion who lived with multiple disabilities. Their shared vision continues to shape the organization’s mission and impact. The Kelsey is a Bay Area-based nonprofit with a national impact, working at the intersection of housing and disability.

The Kelsey both builds and advocates for accessible, affordable, and inclusive housing—what they call "disability-forward" housing. You will get an overview of The Kelsey's work, sharing how The Kelsey came to be, why this work matters, its current projects and impact, and how to get involved.

Since founding The Kelsey in 2018, Micaela has led the organization to develop over 200 disability-forward homes, unlock nearly $190 million for inclusive housing, and scale its influence to reach thousands of advocates and homes nationwide.

As a Fellow at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, she published leading national research on housing and disability, laying the groundwork for The Kelsey’s model. Her commitment to inclusion began early—as the founder of Unified Theater, which she launched at age 15 and scaled to schools across the country. Micaela is recognized as an Ashoka Fellow, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur, Mitchell Scholar, and Harvard Social Innovation and Change Initiative Fellow. A graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School, the University College Dublin Smurfit School, and the University of Virginia, she is a leading voice on inclusive design, housing innovation, and community-based living. Through The Kelsey, she is advancing a bold vision: communities where people of all abilities and incomes live side by side—with dignity, equity, and belonging.

To learn more, go to:

The Kelsey's website: https://thekelsey.org/

Top 12 Moments from The Kelsey's work in 2025: https://thekelsey.org/eoy-recap-top-12-moments-of-2025/

Voices from the Community (hear directly from The Kelsey's residents): https://thekelsey.org/voices-from-the-community/

Today, 343 million people are facing acute hunger—more than double the number from just a few years ago.

This dramatic rise is driven by a combination of conflict, increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters, and a global cost-of-living crisis.

In the face of these growing humanitarian challenges, the World Food Program is turning to innovation to maximize its impact and reach those most in need.

Through the WFP Innovation Accelerator, WFP identifies, supports, and scales high-impact solutions that have the potential to disrupt hunger and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

In this talk, Bernhard Kowatsch will explore how innovation can play a transformative role in tackling global hunger and building a more food-secure future.

Bernhard Kowatsch, is the Head of the United Nations (UN) World Food Program (WFP) Innovation Accelerator, which he created in 2015. The Accelerator sources, nurtures, and scales start-ups and nonprofits working to achieve Zero Hunger, and has run 22 accelerator programmes for external partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Humanitarian Grand Challenge, Adaptation Fund and other UN Agencies, with more planned.

Prior to starting the Accelerator, Bernhard co-founded the award-winning ShareTheMeal app that crowdsources funding for WFP and has delivered over 264 million meals for hungry children worldwide. His previous experience includes creating WFP’s Business Innovation Unit and working as a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

To learn more, go to: https://innovation.wfp.org/

The nonprofit Northwest Arkansas Council works to identify challenges and champion solutions to enhance the prosperity of the Northwest Arkansas region.

Key initiatives include work to advance quality of life, attract talent, improve the region’s workforce, create job opportunities, upgrade infrastructure and keep up with the region’s impressive growth. The Council's "Life Works Here" campaign aims to better tell the story of Northwest Arkansas to tech talent around the country.

Northwest Arkansas is home to three Fortune 500 companies (Walmart, Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt), the University of Arkansas, numerous successful businesses and a growing startup culture. The region boasts a vibrant arts scene and an incredible outdoor recreation economy that includes 500+ miles of world-class bike trails.

This week's speaker, Nelson Peacock, will discuss how the campaign came about and what it seeks to accomplish.

Peacock joined the Northwest Arkansas Council as president and CEO after working as a senior vice president of government affairs for the University of California Office of the President.

Prior to that, Nelson was appointed by President Barack Obama to lead the Office of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where was responsible for all aspects of the department’s interactions with Congress on issues related to counter terrorism, immigration, cyber security and natural disasters. Nelson oversaw the congressional teams of seven operational agencies of Homeland Security, including the Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Administration. Nelson also served as senior counsel to Senator Joe Biden on the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate where he advised the future President on homeland security, crime and intellectual property issues.

Nelson has a Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas and Masters of Law from the George Washington University School of Law.

To learn more, go to:

The Northwest Arkansas Council - https://nwacouncil.org

Finding NWA - https://findingnwa.com